Open source Web browsing got a boost recently from one of the free software movement’s biggest benefactors, IBM, which said it would contribute large chunks of code to the next version of Mozilla’s Firefox Web browser.

Specifically, Big Blue is contributing Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language (DHTML) code that will make it easier for disabled users to navigate Web sites. For instance, IBM’s code is supposed to allow people with vision impairments to see Web pages more easily through magnification. The software also should help people navigate a Web page through keyboard commands more easily. 

IBM is working with Mozilla and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to build these features into Firefox 1.5. IBM and Mozilla say that the contribution of the DHTML code will also make it easier for third-party software developers to integrate accessibility features into software that uses Web browser technology.

According to separate studies by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more users of the Web are expected to have trouble seeing or using computer input devices, as the U.S. population gets older and more people with disabilities start using the Web.

Although IBM’s assistance to open source technology has caused the company some controversy in the past - the firm is still mired in a $3 billion lawsuit with SCO - it’s hard to imagine anyone objecting to the donation of the DHTML accessibility code to the open source Mozilla group.